PSYA01H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Lev Vygotsky, Object Permanence
Document Summary
He did not conduct formal experiments, but loosely structured interviews which he posed problems for children to solve then he observed and questioned their solutions. He was partially interested in their errors which would provide insight on their thought process. He assumed that a child actively seeks knowledge and gains an understanding of the wolrd by operating on it. They are organized units of knowledge about objects, events, and actions. It is cognitive adaption which involves two processes: Assimilation is the interpretation of new experiences in terms of present schemes. Accommodation is the modification of present schemes to fit with new experiences. Ex. a child may call all four-legged animals doggie because the child needs to accommodate their schemes as only one type of four-legged animal. The notions of maturation and the stage like (think prerequisites) nature of cognitive maturation. The importance of operations, schematas, and the processes of assimilation vs. accommodation.
